The piston carrier has an elongated frame with leveling and positioning legs. The legs are extendable from the sides of the frame to achieve stable width, and the legs are individually extendable for leveling and height positioning of the frame.
At the end of the frame to be clamped to the hammer, when hammer and carrier are aligned, a terminal tube with a bore corresponding to the cylinder bore of the hammer receives the emerging piston. The terminal tube is part of the carrier. Means to attach the frame to the hammer is, preferably, a terminal tube attached to the frame. A carrier is comprised of at least a frame, means to attach said frame to a hammer, and frame supporting structure, preferably, adjustable legs.
Once aligned, the piston still must be moved by substantial force. The needed force, for movement to or from the carrier, is provided by a forcing means, preferably, a hydraulic ram. The preferred ram is a short stroke unit to save space, and moves in a selected and reversible direction, in repeated short excursions, to walk the piston to the intended final position. The ram is on a ram carriage that moves on the frame, in ratcheting cycles, along the axial direction of the terminal tube. The force ram arrangement is provided with a threaded coupler, to be installed on the piston, to couple the piston to the ram.
If the carrier is to be used only with bored out and sleeve fitted hammers, the terminal tube on the carrier can have a bore of the same diameter as the bored-out hammer cylinder bore. When the piston is later installed in the bored out body, the rings move down to the taper below the former catch ring receiving groove and are compressed into their respective grooves during the travel to the close-fitting cylinder bore.
If the carrier is to be used to install pistons into hammers not bored out above the catch ring receiving groove the terminal tube on the carrier has the same diameter as the close fitting portion of the cylinder bore of the hammer.
To pull a piston past the bored-out end of the hammer and into a close fitting bore on the carrier terminal tube, a sleeve with a tapered bore is inserted into the enlarged bore to re-compress the rings as the rings progress toward the close fitting bore of the carrier terminal tube. The piston then rests in the carrier with the rings compressed into their respective piston grooves.